GLOBALISATION AND SMALL NATIONS BEING HELD ON BRIJUNI ISLAND

( Editorial: --> 9564 ) BRIJUNI, Oct 19 (Hina) - An international symposium on Globalisation and the challenges this process presents to small nations and states commenced on Monday on the Brijuni island (northern Adriatic). Croatia is a country that is interested in being included into European and world integrations - especially the EU and NATO. It is at the same time a small country and fears that this process may threaten its national interests and identity. The symposium is being organised by the Croatian Foreign Ministry, the State Testaments Foundation and the Croatian Embassy in Bonn. The forum has attracted the participation of Croat, German, and Austrian scientists, politicians and economists. A speech by Croatian President Franjo Tudjman was read at the opening. In it President Tudjman pointed out the dilemmas with which Croatia is faced as a result of globalisation, as a process of creating world economic and information systems and integration of nations and states as ultra-national systems. "...It is clear that serious repercussions could be felt by those countries left aside. At the same time though it is worth considering the timing, conditions and methods by which to be included into these movements without threatening our own national interests and economic identity", notes President Tudjman's speech. Croatia's response to the challenges of globalisation, is to preserve it's independence yet to be integrated into world trends. Former German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher believes that globalisation is not a threat but rather a challenge and an opportunity. Genscher said that the in the 21 st century a map of the world will point out a few very powerful countries with world influence such as the USA, Japan, Russia, India and China as well as regional associations such as the European Union which will gather small and medium sized countries and states. The future world order being prepared by globalisation will not be featured with a uni-polar system dominated by the USA but rather multi-polarism where cooperation will establish future relations he said. The European Union as a form of regional integration where equality will rule as will cooperation between small and medium sized nations, will serve as the model for the future world order, believes Genscher. He considers that small nations such as Croatia need not fear such integration processes for there is no need for these countries to loose their identity. Countries such as Croatia are capable of utilising the challenge of globalisation, not on their own though, but only as members of regional integrations such as the European Union, Gencsher said. He recommended that Croatia should fulfil the pre-conditions set by the EU so that it can be accessed to European integrations while at the same time the EU should not close its doors but without prejudice towards nations and countries, it should continue to open the doors to other countries. Deputy Croatian Foreign Minister Ivo Sanader spoke about the actual situation with regard to relations between Croatia and the international community. Croatia cannot accept solutions which go against its national interest which include institutionalised ties between the states of the former Yugoslavia he said. Sanader reminded that Croatia's priorities were to be included into the EU and NATO. He said that he believed that by mid next-year, Croatia would have fulfilled yet another of its objectives and that it would become a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Advisor to the Croatian President for internal affairs, Ivic Pasalic said that a great achievement of globalisation was that it sped up the development of democracy in all countries and that it strengthened the protection of human rights. Pasalic, who is the principle of the Croatian State Testaments Foundation said that globalisation could not threaten the existence and self-consciousness of state-political subjectivity of small nations if they are aware of their national identity and if they were developing their democracy and maintained a strong state government along with a market economy and social justice. "The Croatian nation and its state government accepts the challenges of globalisation without fear despite the complexity, contradictions and uncertainty of many of its processes" said Pasalic. (Hina) sp jn / 191905 MET oct 98